Archive for October, 2017

The pop of a cork is a celebrated sound across the world, but new research has found that the sound of a cork popping can actually make us think our wine tastes better. The first of its kind, the study was designed by Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University’s Crossmodal Research Laboratory, and looked to test whether the sound and sight of a cork-stopped and screw-capped wine being opened would influence the perception of the wine inside the bottle. 140 participants were asked to try two identical wines, and give them ratings after having been played the sound of a cork popping, then again after having heard a screwcap being opened. They were then asked to actually open both bottles and rate the wines again. Overall, participants rated the same wine as 15% better quality when served under a cork than a screwcap. The wine under a cork was also rated as more appropriate for a celebration (+20%) and more inciting of a celebratory mood (+16%). The cork versus screwcap debate has raged in the wine industry for decades, with experts, sommeliers and producers from across the world deeply divided in their opinions. This experiment is the first empirical demonstration that a cork closure provides a more positive drinking experience. While some wine experts have criticized cork due to the occurrence of the chemical compound TCA, huge advancements in technology in recent years have brought the number of wines affected by TCA down to between 0.8% and 1.2%. As such, top winemakers across the world are increasingly choosing cork as their closure of choice, with 7 out of 10 wine bottles now sealed with a natural cork. Click here to see our complete line of Stainless Steel Wine Barrels.